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www.groovekorea.com / August 2014 80 preview by Dean Crawford at the BoX office the BiG ScreeN Edited by Jenny Na (jenny@groovekorea.com) muSIC & ARTS Directed by Jonathan Liebesman August 28 Directed by Adam Wingard August 7 Whether it’s right here in this column or in the GrooveCast with Chance Dorland, you may have heard me air my grievances about the “Transformers” movies. But as much as I enjoy calling out Michael Bay and the Autobots, I feel I should point out that this isn’t done out of spite or some kind of deep-rooted anger at Bay for ruining the best cartoon from my childhood. No. It really comes down to the fact that the “Trans- formers” movies are bad films: Their character- ization is nonexistent, and for all the explosions they contain, they still manage to be boring. So imagine my surprise when the Internet got up in arms about the upcoming reboot of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series — not be- cause the turtles are now fully CGI or because they are changing the heroes’ backstory, but because the turtles now have lips. Now, I could have understood some considerable anger at the reinvention of comic book mythology, but losing it over a pair of lips? If TMNT fans were looking for something blasphemous to com- plain about online, how did Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo manage to go un- scathed after that dance-off with Vanilla Ice in 1991’s “The Secret of the Ooze”? Not a peep. (Any fallout after the Vanilla Ice cameo probably went undocumented due to lack of Internet, if we’re being realistic, but that’s not the point.) Regardless of the circumstances, why bother complaining now over something so trivial as a facial feature? “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” sees New York gripped with fear as the evil Shredder (William Fichtner) wreaks havoc on the city. The only ones who are brave enough to stop him are four unlikely heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Tur- tles, who work alongside April O’Neal (Megan Fox) and her cameraman Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) to protect the city from Shredder and his minions. My suggestion is that the Internet take a break and relax over this film. They need to un- derstand that it’s a summer blockbuster meant to cater to kids and they shouldn’t get worked up over something so benign. And, yes, I am aware that I should listen to my own advice with regards to the “Transformers” movies, but I’d take a pair of mutant lips over the jive-talking Skids and Mudflap any day! It’s not uncommon for the release date of a movie to change. Take “Fast 7,” for example. The untimely passing of Paul Walker meant the mammoth franchise had to vacate its prime summer spot, as the film has been pushed back to next year. In its place comes Matt Reeves’ “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” moving up four months from November. Luc Besson’s “Lucy,” starring Scarlett Johansson, was sup- posed to come out in July, but has been pushed to September. In this instance, a delay could suggest a lack of quality in the finished film, but two months doesn’t really raise any red flags. But when we look at a movie like “Jupiter Ascending,” which was originally scheduled for July but has been pushed back to February 2015, alarm bells definitely start to ring. The official reason for the delay is unfinished visual effects, but a better guess would be that Warn- er Bros. has no confidence in the movie and has banished it to the doldrums of February — the phantom zone where studios send their movies to die. To say these schedule changes have wreaked havoc with my previews would be an understate- ment, but these last-minute changes mean I get the chance to promote an independent horror movie that may otherwise have flown under the radar. That movie is “You’re Next” (2011), a modern slasher film directed by Adam Wingard and starring the lovely Sharni Vinson. Erin (Vinson) is attending her boyfriend’s par- ents’ anniversary celebration at their holiday home in the woods of Missouri. As the celebra- tion gets underway, a group of masked killers start picking off the guests one by one. But little do they know, Erin has a particular set of skills that allows her to fight back and potentially ruin the plans of the crazed killers. “You’re Next” doesn’t claim to reinvent the wheel, but it is an interesting, refreshing take on the subgenre and boasts a strong female lead. Horror fans will definitely enjoy “You’re Next,” which is out in August. Or September. Or maybe next year. Who can tell when movies are coming out these days? Action / Adventure / Comedy U.S. Comedy / Horror / Thriller U.S. teenage mutant Ninja turtles You’re Next GrooveCast GrooveCast host Chance Dorland and columnist Dean Crawford talk movies. Check out the podcast at groovekorea.com.
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